I keep saying I’m going to give solo blogging a go and this time I really me it. LOL! Bunches of stuff have happened recently. I posted about the impending release of my new novel written with Melinda Leigh. Amazon Heat will be hitting an eBookstore near you on January 9th. Once that comes out Melinda and I will be all over the place. I’ve posted a schedule of blog appearances on the home page. We’d love it if you’d stop in and say hello.

So far The Demon He Knows has been getting some really nice reviews. Thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to review the story. I’m currently in the home stretch of writing the follow up to this with possibly a third story in the works. I do want to share this review from top2bottom reviews because it was so great I was ready to go out a buy my own book. LOL! Thank you very much Michelle!

More fun and adventures will be coming up in the future so be sure to stop back by. I’m going to try and get posts up on Tuesdays and Sundays.

I am an animal lover. My house is currently ruled by two cats with a boatload of attitude between them and I love them like crazy. My two girls are rescues. I wasn’t looking for a pet at all then one day this beautiful little kitten in need of help stole my heart and she’s been with me ever since. A number of years later another kitten in need of a home crossed my path and I couldn’t say no. Still there are  many, many dogs and cats out there who aren’t as lucky as my cats and are still looking for loving homes. Until they can find  someone to love them and give them a home, the shelters that house them need a little assistance. So when I saw the Pedigree Foundation’s Write a Post, Save a Dog campaign I had to help.  After all, what could be simpler them putting up a blog post. Here are details about the program.

BlogPaws the Conference for Pet Bloggers, Pet Brands, and Pet Health Care Professionals is only a day away now and in honor of the occasion Pedigree has decided to launch a Write a Post, Help a Dog Campaign. For those of you who missed the event last year in September 391 bloggers wrote about the program and with each post, Pedigree donated 20 pounds of its Healthy Longevity dog food to shelter animals. In all, 7,820 pounds of food was donated to two shelters known across the country for their dedication to the care and re-homing of senior dogs: Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco andCastaway Critters in Harrisburg, Pa.

How you can help in 2011

Simply spread the word about Write a Post, Help a Dog 2011 and once again Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of food for each blog post.  If you don’t have a blog feel free to tweet about the campaign or share on Facebook so your friends who do blog can participate. All bloggers are welcome even if you do not generally talk about pets on your blog. Its all about using Social Media for Social Good.
Here’s how it works:

• The Write a Post, Help a Dog program is aimed at raising awareness of the more then 4 million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year. As well as to help get them all food (our goal is 10,000 lbs of food in the next two weeks) for the more than four million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year.
• For each blog post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation from now until midnight ET on September 3, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe food for dogs — its best recipe ever — to a shelter, because every dog deserves leading nutrition.
• Feel free to make your post more visually appealing by using either or both of the two images seen in this post.
• The Pedigree Foundation — a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to helping dogs by providing grants to shelters and rescues and encouraging dog adoption. This year the Foundation has already raised more than $376,570 against its goal of $1.5 million to carry out its work to fund grants that not only help shelters operate, but to further shelter innovations.

• Donate online at http://pedigreefoundation.org/donate.aspx
• Apply for a shelter grant from the Pedigree Foundation by completing a form at www.pedigreefoundation.org
• Purchase Dogs Rule Gear at www.dogsrulegear.com where the proceeds go to the Pedigree Foundation to help loving dogs find a home. SPECIAL OFFER: Get 10 percent off Dogs Rule Gear by using the promo code BlogPaws10 from August 22 – September 30.

Once you get your post up and ready please feel free to grab the link code to include it in your post and add your link to the list so it is easier to keep track of all the posts plus it makes it so easy for your friends to learn about the event and see the progress we are making towards our goal of 10,000 lbs of food.

I love riding roller coasters, especially the ones that will flip, dip, twist, and loop you around. Every time I get nervous knots in my stomach as the car clicks it’s way up the track leading you higher and higher towards that first big drop. It’s exciting and terrifying all at once. In the strange inner workings of my mind I got to thinking about how publishing and getting a book reviewed is some what similar.

You go through the editing process, then dive into promotion and marketing in the hopes of making people aware of upcoming release, all the while climbing up that hill of anticipation. Sure your mom, your cp and your editor all loved your book, but what about the general public? Once release day comes, off you go. It can be quite an emotional ride. Flying high when you get positive reviews, crashing back down if you get a negative review. It’s an exciting yet scary experience putting your work out for public critique.

I must say I’ve been very, very fortunate with The Demon He Knows. My reviews have all been very positive so far and that’s thrilling. Thank you to the reviewers who took the time to read my book and for enjoying it enough to share your thoughts. I know not everyone is going to love my writing. That’s an eventuality I’ve tried prepare myself for, but it’s never easy. I have learned a few tings in riding this particular roller coaster, though, and I thought I’d share a few of the tidbits I’ve picked up.

First, just as you would follow submission guidelines when sending your book to an editor or agent, the same holds true for reviewers. Make sure the review site accepts the genre of book you’ve written, that you’re sending the correct format, and submitting it to the correct person.

Second, just because you send your book to a reviewer doesn’t guarantee that you will get reviewed. Review sites have a huge influx of books coming their way and they aren’t going to get to them all.The last thing you want to do is make a pest of yourself.

Third, regardless of whether the review is good or bad thank the reviewer for their time. Even a negative review can be good publicity for your book and may have one gem of a pull quote that you can use on your website, bookmarks, etc.

Finally, even if the review is scathing never, ever go on the defensive or on the attack. It’s always bound to come back and bite you. Don’t make yourself the poster person for what not to do. Always stay professional. If you absolutely can’t say thank you, it’s best to say nothing at all.

Anyone else have any tips to offer in dealing with book reviews?

~Rayna